Tree logging, thinning of young timber and clearing operations for constructing through forested areas have the undesirable effect of generating quantities of slash or forest residue which often must be removed from the operation site. Slash generally includes unused portions of a tree including tree tops, limbs, cull logs, stumps and roots, often amounting to as much as 50% of a tree. Forest residue can also include small trees and fallen or decayed trees. Slash is usually burned or deposited in landfill areas since accumulation thereof in forested areas creates fire hazards and breeding sites for insects, and adversely affects wildlife, water-sheds, and forest aesthetics.
Toppled or uprooted trees and other plants including shrubs and bushes are also removed to landfill sites after storms bearing high winds, flooding, landslides and the like. Other vegetative material resulting from gardening, landscaping and agriculture often finds its way to land fill sites as well or is incinerated if it cannot otherwise be used as silage or directly for fodder.
Processing slash and live trees to form relatively uniform, finely divided particles suitable for applications where consistency of nutrient release or more rapid reaction with chemical agents is desired. It is difficult to generate such uniformity from forest and agricultural material, since the cutting blades of presently available fine shredding mills are quickly halted as a result of the release of pine sap and/or other sticky materials into the resulting mixture as the trees are being processed. Chipping and chopping of such materials are more tolerant to the present of sticky substances because of the use of larger cutting blades and significant power employed by such devices.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for processing vegetative material.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for transforming waste vegetative material into useful materials.
Another object of the invention is to provide finely divided particles having substantially similar size from slash and agricultural materials.
Still another object of the invention is to provide finely divided particles into which pine sap and other liquids are absorbed, from slash containing coniferous plants.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.